According to a BBC report, a large stockpile of unexploded weapons has vanished in Gaza.  Last known whereabouts: A storehouse under Hamas watch.

The story: Some of the weaponry used by Israel in last month’s Operation “Cast Lead” failed to explode as it should have.  This live ordnance is extremely dangerous, and special UN teams have been working to collect the shells and destroy them safely.  In the interim, as the materiel was being collected and the dispolsal coordinated with Israel, the shells were placed in a storehouse guarded by Hamas members.

So what happened to these weapons?  Likely Hamas commandeered them for their own purposes.  Meanwhile, the UN is demanding the materiel be returned in order to avoid a catastrophe.

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Last month, we pointed out that Hamas was working quite actively to quash dissent against its activities in the Gaza Strip.  At the time, we could only cite a few sources.  Now, however, Amnesty International has published a report on the subject that presents the matter in greater detail.  You can read the full media advisory here (be aware that it does describe scenes of violence).

An excerpt:

The targets of Hamas’ deadly campaign include former detainees accused of “collaborating” with the Israeli army who escaped from Gaza’s Central Prison when it was bombed by Israeli forces on 28 December 2008, as well as former members of the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces and other activists of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.

The campaign began shortly after the beginning of the three-week Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008 and continued after a ceasefire took effect on 18 January 2009.

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The cargo boat sailed from the Tripoli port in Lebanon a few days ago, docking in Cyprus before continuing its journey to the Gaza Strip. While at sea, the cargo boat was contacted by Israel, clarifying that it would not be permitted to enter Gaza because of security risks in the area.

Starting yesterday evening, the Israel Navy has been making direct contact with the boat and continued to clarify that the ship would not be permitted to enter the Gaza Strip’s coastal waters. The boat crew stated their intentions of changing their destination to the port in El-Arish, Egypt.

During the morning hours today, 05 February, the cargo ship changed its bearing, and began heading towards the Gaza Strip, contrary to the claims made by the boat crew last evening.

Disregarding all warnings, the cargo boat approached the Gaza shores. The actions of the boat crew raised suspicion, as it could threaten security concerns, or furthermore, the boat could be used for smuggling banned equipment (weaponry, etc.) in to or out of the Gaza Strip.

As a result of the actions taken by the boat crew, an Israel Navy force intercepted, boarded, and took control of the cargo boat, directing it towards Ashdod, Israel. No gunshots were fired on board during the boarding and capturing of the cargo boat. The boat crew will be taken for questioning by the Israeli Police, and any humanitarian goods found on the boat will be transferred to the Gaza Strip.

Any organization or country that wishes to transfer humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, can do so via the established crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip with prior coordination.

Note: The true motivation of the ship’s voyage can be discerned by the fact that not only were a number of journalists invited to join, but also on board was Hilarion Cappuci – a former Greek Catholic bishop who was caught in 1974 smuggling weapons bound for Palestinian terrorists in the trunk of his official church vehicle while entering Israel from Lebanon.

Addendum: Haaretz reports that despite earlier claims that the boat was carrying tons of humanitarian aid, a search of the ship revealed “about 150 bottles of mineral water and a few dozen kilograms of food and medicine.”

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Several weeks ago, 40 Palestinians were tragically killed in Jabalya by Israeli fire.  News reports at the time indicated they had been targeted inside a UN-run school.  Now, that case isn’t so clear.

This, from the Globe and Mail:

JABALYA, GAZA STRIP — Most people remember the headlines: Massacre Of Innocents As UN School Is Shelled; Israeli Strike Kills Dozens At UN School.

They heralded the tragic news of Jan. 6, when mortar shells fired by advancing Israeli forces killed 43 civilians in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. The victims, it was reported, had taken refuge inside the Ibn Rushd Preparatory School for Boys, a facility run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

The news shocked the world and was compared to the 1996 Israeli attack on a UN compound in Qana, Lebanon, in which more than 100 people seeking refuge were killed. It was certain to hasten the end of Israel’s attack on Gaza, and would undoubtedly lead the list of allegations of war crimes committed by Israel.

There was just one problem: The story, as etched in people’s minds, was not quite accurate.

See the Globe and Mail for more.

The deaths of these civilians, like all Palestinian and Israeli civilian deaths, is a tragic fact.  We learn that we ought not rush to conclusions in these matters, and that perhaps a full investigation might uncover a fuller version of events.

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The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has posted on its website some answers to many of the more frequently asked questions it received during Operation “Cast Lead.”  Questions include:

• Will Israel cooperate with investigations of war crimes?
• Does Israel permit humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip?
• Will Israel investigate the illegal use of phosphorus?

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Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit took aim at Iran, Hamas, and Hizbullah for trying to foment conflict in the Middle East.  Reuters reports:

“(They tried) to turn the region to confrontation in the interest of Iran, which is trying to use its cards to escape Western pressure … on the nuclear file,” Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in an interview with Orbit satellite channel broadcast Wednesday.

In additional news, the AP reports on an Iranian ship intercepted by the US Navy.  A search revealed small arms, which probably destined for Gaza, but are on their way (at least for now) to Syria.

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Palestinians attacked an Israeli patrol this morning ina cross-border raid, killing one soldier and wounding two others.  As the body controlling Gaza, Hamas bears direct responsibility for violating the ceasefire and for the consequences of this action.

For further information and analysis, see the Christian Science Monitor.

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Ordinary Israeli citizens are doing some pretty extraordinary work to help the people of Gaza:

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Much has been made of Hamas’s use of tunnels to smuggle arms and fighters into the Gaza Strip.  They also used these tunnels to shoot Qassam rockets and hide from the IDF.  The following, from Newsweek (emphasis added):

“They [the Israelis] were claiming there are tunnels under here,” she said. Hamas fighters use tunnels, often short ones that are little more than bunkers, to pop out and launch attacks and then get back in, hiding from Israel’s ubiquitous surveillance drones, reemerging in a house or backyard as an unarmed civilian. “There aren’t any tunnels around here, we are not resistance,” she said. Yet not more than 20 feet away from Najah, there was just such a tunnel, which Israeli troops had unearthed. Right in the middle of the road, it had a convincingly camouflaged roof that matched the rest of the road. Inside it was shored up with timbers and concrete.

In similar news, the Associated Press reports today that Palestinians are reopening their smuggling tunnels, some of which were damaged during the recent operation.  While smuggling Iranian weapons may not have restarted, this may be a sign of things to come.

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A report in today’s Corriere della Sera (in Italian) profiles some Gaza residents who say Hamas used some strong arm tactics to keep them in harm’s way.  For example, Hamas gunmen forced residents to stay at home while they fired at Israeli troops (rather than telling the civilians to run away).  You can read an English-language summary in Haaretz.

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